Recount set in House District 37 race won by just 29 votes

ELLSWORTH, Maine — A requested recount of ballots in the House District 37 race between Republican Madeleine Leach and Democrat Ralph Chapman has been scheduled for Wednesday.

After the Nov. 2 elections, Chapman was the apparent winner by just 29 votes, 2,256 to 2,227, according to unofficial results. Given the narrow margin by which she lost, Leach asked for a recount.

That will take place at 1 p.m. Wednesday in Augusta, according to Julie Flynn, deputy secretary of state.

The two candidates were seeking to fill the District 37 House seat left vacant when Rep. Jim Schatz opted to run for Dennis Damon’s state Senate seat. House District 37 includes the Hancock County towns of Blue Hill, Brooksville, Castine, Penobscot, Sedgwick and Surry.

Story continues below advertisement.

According to Flynn, another requested recount of a Down East election has not yet been scheduled.

The Republican candidate for the position of district attorney in Washington and Hancock counties asked for the recount.

“We’re trying to schedule the House and Senate recounts and get all the ballots down here,” Flynn said Monday. “That [district attorney] recount won’t be scheduled until after Thanksgiving.”

Republican Matthew Foster finished second in a three-way race for the district attorney’s post, 690 votes behind the apparent winner, the current deputy district attorney, Democrat Carletta Bassano. Bassano received 14,087 votes, Foster, 13,397 votes, and Independent candidate Stephen Juskewitch received 9,340 votes.

Flynn also said officials have yet to schedule a recount in the Waldo County commissioners race. According to previous reports, Democrat Betty Johnson apparently had lost the election by five votes to incumbent Republican Donald P. Berry Sr. But after overseas and military ballots were tallied and write-in ballots from Belfast were reviewed, Johnson led Berry by an eight-vote margin, 2,887 to 2,879.